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Presidential journeys overseas have traditionally been an opportunity to showcase the influence of the United States on the international platform. The president's multi-day swing through East Asia, on the other hand, has been a show of the clout of Trump – but also, at moments, of that authority's limitations.

The president's visits in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea over the span of the opening phase were an demonstration in satisfying a occasionally mercurial American president. It was an acknowledgement that the leader, with the signature of a document, could introduce duties and other measures that have the ability to devastate the markets of trade-reliant countries.

His sit-down with Beijing's head Xi on the last day, though, was something entirely different.

It was a meeting of peers on the global stage, where the stakes for each country – for their markets, for their world reputation, for the well-being of their people – were immense.

With China, the US leader may flick his power, but these moves entail repercussions. They come with a toll.

• Trump describes 'remarkable' encounter with Xi but no pact reached
• The Chinese president and Trump find temporary truce as China pursues extended strategy

For the initial phase, Trump's latest venture into international relations was uneventful.

Each stop was marked by a blend of standard trade negotiations – deals made under the threat of Trump's "equivalent" duties – and special treatment that at points verged on the subservient.

In Malaysia, the president obtained entry to key materials and made progress toward finalizing trade arrangements with south-east Asian nations. He also presided over a pact that should ease border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia – the kind of "peace deal" the American president prefers to promote.

In Japan, the president's official aircraft flew past a landmark tower illuminated US flag colors – with a top in gilded.

Newly elected Head Takaichi detailed $550bn in Japan's financial commitments in the America and gave the president a present of two hundred fifty sakura trees for America's semiquincentennial, and a golf equipment and carrier that belonged to the late leader, the assassinated ex-leader who developed ties with Trump in his first term.

She also became the most recent overseas counterpart to propose Trump for his highly-coveted international honor.

Keeping pace, Korea greeted the president with artillery performing a traditional greeting and a armed forces orchestra that rendered the leader's song and the classic tune – the band song that has become a presidential event anthem.

Head the Korean president held an "recognition ritual" for the US leader during which he presented the American leader his nation's top honor and a model of an traditional ruler's coronet.

Noon repast with Lee featured a "Conciliatory Treat" of gold-covered baked goods. Afterward, the South Koreans offered Trump vineyard wine at an intimate dinner in Trump's honor with six world leaders participating in the regional summit summit.

In the US, Trump may be the target of "Anti-Authority" rallies by Americans who disapprove of his limit-pushing extensions of leader's control, but during his East Asia swing he was received as nobility.

And like the kings of history, the president came to the Korean nation requesting tribute – in the shape of $200 billion in financial transfers, $20 billion a annually, from South Korea to the United States, to be used at the guidance of the president's leadership. Consent on the details of those contributions assisted in that the tax percentage on host nation products to the America would fall from 25% to under twenty percent.

The primary focus of the president's Asian tour took place in its last moments, though, as he encountered Xi.

At that location, the power dynamic between leaders of the world's two largest economies was noticeably different than the meetings Trump had with his foreign counterparts in previous days.

Missing were typical pomp and the spectacle. No service ensembles, absent ceremonial troops, missing carefully crafted menus marking shared goodwill. By contrast, the two leaders and their key staff sat across a large pale discussion surface in a plain military building just near the airstrip of the city of Busan's international airport.

It was perhaps a demonstration of the significant risks that when Trump shook hands with the Chinese leader in Busan, he looked